A Chance to Change it All
by Mspfriend
Summary: Harry Potter and his soulmate, Daphne Greengrass, manipulated and betrayed by almost everyone they hold dear, travel back in time to their younger selves to change the fate of the wizarding world. Harry may not be a Gryffindor, so please don't get mad if he isn't. Constructive criticism is accepted, but no mean comments please, I will just ignore them.
1. Prologue

**PROLOGUE**

Harry Potter sat across from a young blonde girl in an almost empty diner, a half filled cup of water and a plate of French fries in front of him. The blonde snatched a French fry off of the plate and popped it into her mouth, eying Harry wearily.

"Are you going to say anything, or is this just gonna be one of those awkward dates where nobody talks?" Asked Daphne Greengrass, offhandedly tossing her blonde hair over her shoulder. The date was already clearly exactly that, at this point it was just about over, anyway. The bill had already been paid, and Harry and Daphne had spoken about ten words to each other the entire time.

"The Slytherin ice queen wants to talk?" Harry asked, an eyebrow raised. "How surprising!"

"Contrary to popular belief, I am not silent and emotionless, nor am I a queen. Although my ravishing good looks do make me seem rather like royalty, don't they?" Daphne asked, tilting her head to the side in a questioning manner.

She was pretty, Harry would give her that. And definitely quick witted, if her last comment was anything to go by. But was she actually interested? Ever since Harry had announced that he was not romantically interested in Ginny Weasley, girls had been asking him out left and right, desperate for a piece of his fame and fortune. Admittedly, Daphne had not actually asked him out. It had been a blind date, set up by a member of the DA who was apparently friends with Daphne's sister. Daphne wasn't acting nearly as desperate as those other girls had, but the Slytherin in Harry combined with the after effects of the war made him weary.

"You don't seem to be particularly happy to be here," Daphne continued, when he didn't answer. "One might even go as far as to suggest that you don't want to be with me. But how ridiculous would that be?" She asked. "Everyone wants to be with me. I'm rather good looking, and intelligent as well, if I do say so myself."

"Modest, too," said Harry dryly.

"So you've noticed," Daphne agreed. "It's one of my best traits." After a moment of silence, she continued, "are we going to spend much longer making sarcastic quips at each other, because I have a two o'clock appointment at St. Mungo's, and being late would give a terrible impression."

"What do you propose we talk about, then?" Harry asked. "Or do you just want to leave now?"

"Ah, leaving the conversation choice up to the woman, Potter? I can't decide if that's smart or stupid. I suppose we could just say a little about ourselves, and hope that a less pathetic conversation topic arises out of it?"

"How very cliche," Harry said. "You go first, then."

"Alright," she sat up straight. "My name is Daphne Greengrass. I was born on August 10, 1980, and I was in Slytherin house at Hogwarts, although I now wish I was in Ravenclaw. My nickname is the ice queen, although you may feel free to come up with a different one. In fact, I urge you to do so. Something to do with cats would be nice, I think. Anyway, I have a sister named Astoria who's ten months younger than me. My favorite color is bronze, and I have a job interview at St. Mungo's later today to be an assistant healer. Your turn."

"My name is Harry Potter, although I should hope you know that by now, seeing as my face has been on the last thirty editions of the Daily Prophet. I was born July 31, 1980, and I was in Gryffindor house. My nickname is the boy who lived, although I'm not quite sure that counts. If we're giving each other nicknames, perhaps you could come up with something along the lines of ultimate superhero king of the world. It sounds much more impressive than the boy who lived. I believe I shall call you Kitten, as you're far too small to be a cat. I'm an only child, my favorite color is blue, and I want to be a curse breaker, although I probably won't be because I'm expected to become an auror."

"While ultimate superhero king of the world is a fine choice for a nickname, it's a tad bit long. I think I'll call you Superman instead," Daphne decided.

"How creative," Harry said, dipping a French fry in some ketchup. "Your knowledge of muggle comics is surprising."

"Not all Slytherins are pure blood fanatics," Daphne said, defensively. "And I already told you, I'd rather have been in Ravenclaw."

"My apologies," Harry murmured, swirling his French fry around in the ketchup. "It was rude of me to assume."

"Yes it was," agreed Daphne. "Now, as splendid as this conversation is going, I should be heading off to St. Mungo's now for my job interview."

"Good luck, Daphne. Believe it or not, I think you've given me quite a bit to think about."

"Of course I have," she said haughtily. "My superior mind leaves many to try and make sense of the things I've said weeks after I've said them. And thank you for wishing me luck, Superman, not that I'll need it. Who would pass up the opportunity of having me work for them?"

"Your arrogance astounds me," he got to his feet, and they made their way towards the door.

"I'm not arrogant, I'm confident."

"There really isn't much of a difference, as far as I'm concerned."

"This date was a complete disaster," Daphne stated, as Harry opened the door for her.

"I've had a better time with some of the girls who are after me only for my fame," he agreed. "Perhaps a redemption date?"

"I don't give redemption dates. But I wouldn't leave if I ran into you at the Three Broomsticks on Friday at noon."

"Now that you mention it, I believe it's been quite a while since I've been there. I think lunch on Friday sounds like an excellent idea. I think I may even sit at a table for two in hopes of an arrogant young Slytherin queen sitting across from me."

"The chance of you running into one of those are slim, but a modest, beautiful young girl who happened to be in Slytherin, on the other hand- I'd say your chances of running into a girl like that are rather high."

"I'll see you on Friday, then?" He asked.

"It's a completely accidental and not at all planned out date," Daphne agreed, apparating away with a pop. Harry smiled slightly, staring at the spot in the snow where she had just been. Daphne Greengrass really was something else.

* * *

"That could have gone better," Daphne said, sitting down on the couch at the Potter villa. Harry had discovered the property about a month ago during a visit to Gringotts, upon which he had also discovered the fact that Dumbledore had made him a fake will, and had been a witness to his parents' will, which clearly stated that he was not supposed to go to the Dursleys under any circumstances. This revelation had hit Harry hard, but Daphne had been there for him the whole time. Daphne, who he had been dating for almost six months, practically lived at the villa.

Despite their relationship's rocky start, it was now moving along rather fast, and Daphne had just met with the Weasleys. Bill and Charlie had been tense throughout the whole meeting, mostly ignoring them. They had been distant with the rest of the family since George killed himself two summers after the battle of Hogwarts. Fred's loss had been too much for him to bear. Percy had been kind enough, and Ginny hadn't paid much attention. Harry wasn't too offended. Ginny hadn't really been paying much attention to anything, recently. Arthur had been happy for them, opting to spend a majority of their meeting asking what exactly a Superman was, a discussion prompted by Daphne's nickname for Harry.

Molly and Ron had been awful. The two people Harry had expected to support him the most had been terribly disappointed in Harry's choice of girls, and spent the whole meeting screaming about how evil Daphne was. A meeting at Gringotts the next day would show that they had been every bit as involved with Harry's awful childhood as Dumbledore had.

"Perhaps our meeting with your parents next week will be a bit better," he said.

"Perhaps," Daphne agreed. At this point, they could only pray.

* * *

 _"Stop fidgeting,"_ Daphne snapped through their newly discovered soul bond. _"Your going to give an awful first impression if you can't even sit still through the dinner."_

Harry scowled slightly. They had been standing outside the front door to Greengrass manor for almost ten minutes now.

"Can we go in yet?" Daphne asked aloud. "Father doesn't like it when guests are late."

"Right," Harry murmured. "Do we knock on the door, or-"

"Oh, Merlin's beard, Harry! Just come in," Daphne threw the door open and dragged Harry inside, slamming it shut behind her.

"Daphne, darling?" A man's voice called. "Is that you?"

"Yes, Dad," she replied. "It's Harry and I."

A short woman with dark hair and sparkling blue eyes appeared in the doorway. "Daphne, honey. You're finally here. Oh, it's been forever since you last visited. And is this the boyfriend?"

"Yes, mum, this is Harry."

Nora Greengrass opened her mouth to respond, but was interrupted by a dark haired cannonball shooting through the doorway and straight into Daphne's arms.

"Daphne!" Exclaimed Astoria Greengrass. The younger Greengrass sister was even shorter than Daphne, at just under five feet. She was a carbon copy of her mother, with the same blue eyes as Daphne. "So it did work out with Harry! I told you it would; Sophie may be quiet but she's a matchmaking genius! Oh, you look so cute together! Can I be the maid of honor at your wedding?"

"Slow down, Tori!" Daphne exclaimed. "We're not getting married."

"I should hope not," said a voice from the doorway. "I haven't even met the young man yet."

Daphne smiled. "Dad, this is Harry Potter."

"A pleasure to meet you, Harry. I've heard much about you."

"A pleasure to meet you too, sir."

"Oh, none of those formalities. Call me Cyrus."

"Of course, si- Cyrus."

Cyrus Greengrass smiled. It seemed almost sinister, but Harry forced the thought aside. This was Daphne's father, he wasn't sinister or evil.

And perhaps he wasn't either of those, but he most definitely wasn't good. Later on, Harry would only wish he hadn't learned that the way he did.

* * *

"If Daphne marries the Potter boy, our family could be forced to forfeit it's status as gray," Cyrus Greengrass said. Harry, Daphne, and Astoria listened from their spot behind the kitchen door.

"What do you propose we do, then?" Nora asked. "Kill the boy, drug them both? They're clearly in love, there's nothing we can do to change that!"

"Ah, but there might be. I know a potion-"

"Cyrus, no," Nora hissed. "What if the potion goes wrong? What's the harm of Daphne marrying the Potter boy anyway? It'll double the family fortune."

"But we'll have to become light. We can't risk that."

"And I suppose this potion will just magically make them fall out of love, then?"

"It should. The potion hasn't exactly been tested. Their saying an early death is a possible side effect, but it's really not all that important-"

"Not important?" Shrieked Astoria, flinging the door open and standing face to face with her father. "You call death unimportant?"

"It's nothing major Astoria. It's necessary for the safety of the family."

"Everything's for the safety of the family!" Astoria exclaimed. "This family consists of a bunch of cowards! Who cares if we have to join a side? Would you really kill someone over something so stupid?"

"I will not have my daughter speak to me like this in my own house!"

"And what are you gonna do about it?" Astoria challenged.

Quick as lightning, Cyrus Greengrass shoved his daughter across the room as hard as he could. Astoria hit her head on the table and it cracked open. She fell to the ground, limp.

"Tori!" Daphne shrieked. She and Harry ran over to Astoria. Desperately, Daphne tried to seal the wound, but it was too late. Astoria was dead.

"You," shrieked Nora Greengrass, looking at her daughter and her boyfriend in rage. "This is all your fault!"

"Our fault!" Exclaimed Daphne, tears pouring down her face. "You killed my sister!" She looked horrified.

"Out!" Growled Cyrus. "Get out of our house and never return. This was all your fault!"

Daphne lunged at her father, but Harry held her back. He dragged Daphne away and out the door of the manor, thoughts of apparition far from his mind. Cyrus killed Astoria. He couldn't believe it. Cyrus killed Astoria and he had been planning to drug and possibly kill him.

Dumbledore, he could live with. Molly and Ron, he could live with. But this- this was too much. This he couldn't handle. This was what ultimately led to his plan to change everything.

* * *

Harry sat at the edge of a bed in St. Mungo's, the girl he regarded as a sister beside him. Ginny Weasley stared off into space, eyes glazed over. He couldn't believe that he had missed the signs. And now, because of his lack of observational skills, one of his best friends was insane.

"Are you Harry?" Ginny asked, looking at him curiously. She didn't wait for an answer. "I have something to tell Harry. Linden's travel book. He needs it. Very interesting page 13. Or was it 35? 3, 5, 1, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3. 3 something. There's definitely a 3."

Suddenly, she froze, and blinked. "Hello!" She said brightly, like he had just arrived. "Are you Harry? Or was it Garry? Maybe it was Harold or Harvey. Do you know Harvey? I have something to tell him."

Daphne sat down next to Harry on the bed, and Ginny grinned at her. "Do you know Harvey?" She asked. "Linden. Tell him about Linden. Good book. Important book." She frowned. "What for?"

Daphne smiled sadly at Ginny, then turned to Harry. "The Weasleys are here, we've gotta go."

"All of them?" He asked.

"No," she said. "They're saying Arthur died last month, but I'm not sure how. Word is that Ron laughed at the funeral. Bill and Charlie fled the country last week. They know you were considering suing, and they don't want to be a part of that."

"Linden's book," Harry said. "Do you know what it is?"

"Very important," piped in Ginny. "Tell Harold it's gonna fix everything."

"No," Daphne said, "but we'll figure it out. Let's go," she took Harry's hand, and they both rose to their feet.

"Come back next week?" Ginny asked.

"Yeah," Harry said, knowing that they probably wouldn't. "We'll come back next week."

* * *

"Harry," a voice called from the hallway. Harry looked up from his research as Daphne entered the room. Both had been searching for Linden's book ever since Ginny had told them about it. "Harry, I have news."

"What kind of news?" He asked, wearily. He could do with some good news. Hermione, who was beside him, looked up. Harry's relationship with Hermione was complicated. She still insisted on being friends with Ron, despite everything, and their friendship was tense at best. Harry knew she didn't like Daphne, but at this point he would do anything to keep her in his life. She was his anchor to a world where he had been an innocent child. A world of which he did not want to let go.

Daphne glanced at Hermione for a moment, before turning back to her boyfriend. "Good news, I think."

"You think?" Hermione asked. Daphne ignored her.

"Harry, I'm pregnant!"

"Pregnant," he repeated. She nodded. "Daphne this is great!"

"Great!" Cried Hermione. "It was one thing when you guys were just fooling around, but this! Harry, you're happy about the fact that you got a disgusting little Slytherin pregnant?"

Harry and Daphne stared at her in shock. "Hermione, Daphne is the love of my life. I'm psyched that she's pregnant. What's your problem with Daphne anyway?"

"My problem?" She exclaimed. "My problem is that she's evil. She's already found a way to turn you against Ron-"

"Ron is the one who called Daphne evil and laughed at Arthur's funeral!"

"Ron did nothing wrong, the stupid little Slytherin you call your girlfriend has turned you against him! I can't believe you're actually going dark!"

"I'm not going dark!"

"Than why are you happy about having a child with a Slytherin? I can't believe you, Harry. I thought you were a good person!" Hermione stormed out of the villa, leaving Harry and Daphne staring after her in shock.

Harry watched Hermione leave. The last anchor to a time when everything had been so much simpler. He sighed. As if he needed any more proof that childhood was now officially over.

* * *

Harry and Daphne sat side by side in the St. Mungo's waiting room. They had been sitting there for nearly half an hour, waiting for the results. Death eaters had attacked Diagon alley as a last attempt to re-rally and attack muggle borns. Sophie Roper, Astoria's friend who had set them up on a blind date all those years ago, had died in the attack. What really worried them, however, was that a spell had hit Daphne, who was four months pregnant, in the stomach.

A healer appeared in the doorway, and Harry and Daphne stood up.

"I'm sorry Mr and Mrs Potter," he said, looking at them with pity in his eyes. "The baby didn't make it."

"No!" Daphne screamed. "My baby! My little girl!" She burst into tears. Harry felt tears running down his own face as well. For as long as he could remember, his life had been one tragedy after another. Would it ever end?

* * *

Harry sat in the library at his family manor, looking desperately through the shelves. He didn't like the manor, it was too big, but the family library was his last chance at finding Linden's book. He had looked everywhere else.

"Harry!" Daphne exclaimed, suddenly. "Harry I found it! And I figured out why we couldn't find the book, too. Ginny got the name wrong. It's not Linden's book of travel. It's Landon's guide to universal travel! And I found out what Ginny wanted to show us, too."

She showed Harry the book, which was open to a new chapter. Harry stared in shock. Chapter 13. Time travel: how to send your mind back into your younger body.

"The research's nearly finished! Harry, we can do this!"

Harry stared at the book in shock. A chance to redo everything. To make things right this time. A chance for a fresh start. He looked to Daphne, determination clear in his eyes. They would do it, whatever it took, to go back and fix it. "Let's do it," he said.

And so they began their research. They stayed up late and shut out the rest of the world. After fourteen years of studying, they finally finished the ritual. They stood side by side on the thirty-first of October, 2025, and they began to chant. And, in a flash of light and an explosion that destroyed everything within a mile away from them, Harry and Daphne Potter disappeared. Their bodies vanished into thin air, and their minds flew back into their four year old bodies. It was early, they knew, but it was the closest they could get to the age of eleven.

And so a four year old Daphne Greengrass and Harry Potter fled from their homes and found safety in Yorkshire, where they studied and trained. They redid primary school, and redid growing up. It was difficult, and very frustrating at times, but it was all worth it for a chance to change it all.

* * *

 **A/N:** **Hello Everyone. Thank you all for reading my story. Though this is the first one I've posted on this site, it's not the first story I've written. Still, all advice is appreciated. That said, I take constructive criticism, not mean comments. If you plan on being mean, prepare to be ignored. I will try to take any suggestions into consideration, but I have a lot of things already planned out, so if your suggestions won't work with the plans I already have, I may not use them. Harry/Daphne is obviously the main pairing, but I don't really have any other pairings figured out. If there's a certain pairing you want to see, feel free to comment and I may do that pairing. Thank you to everyone who comments and reads my story. I'll try not to be too cliche.**


	2. Chapter I

**CHAPTER I**

Harry Potter sat across from Daphne Greengrass in an otherwise empty compartment on the Hogwarts express. The train wasn't supposed to leave for another hour, but he had been determined to avoid a meeting with the Weasley family this time around. The compartment was silent, as both of its occupants had their heads buried in books.

In his past life, Harry had never had a particular fondness of reading due to the intellectual block placed on him by Dumbledore. This time around, though, Harry was a shoe-in for Ravenclaw. He absorbed knowledge like a sponge, and could never learn enough. Due to his fifty-two year old brain, he was able to understand the most advanced types of magic, and was determined to know everything he could.

Daphne, on the other hand, had always been smart. She had, however, been limited as a child. Her parents had molded her in a way that had made her never question their love for her, or their actions, and had subtly diffused her love for reading. They couldn't, after all, risk having their daughter discover anything about them that would result in her causing a scandal. Keeping Daphne dumbed-down had ensured that she would not form her own opinions, or denounce those of her parents.

Mr and Mrs Greengrass' betrayal had been the hardest hit for Harry, who had already been upset at the discovery of the true motives of the Weasley family. The Greengrasses had treated him like their own son, and he still had nightmares about Astoria screaming at her parents, only to be shoved roughly by her father and crack her head open on the table. Perhaps if they had acted faster, she could have been saved. Harry had been tempted to have Daphne bring her with so Astoria could grow up with them, but he knew that the pain of seeing her would be far too much for him to bare.

Harry's thoughts turned to the year to come. He was almost certain that he and Daphne would end up in Ravenclaw, and he couldn't wait to see the headmaster's face when they did. Although the disappearance of Daphne Greengrass had rocked the wizarding world, no one, as far as Harry was concerned, knew he had left the Dursleys, since no adults apart from Arabella Figg (who was sure to remain silent after being placed under a confundus charm that would stop her from realizing he was gone) had ever checked on him. Dumbledore would be in for a big surprise when Harry showed up strong, smart, and betrothed. Of course, he wouldn't know the last part for a while. Harry and Daphne had decided to officially start dating in second year, and stage a betrothal sometime in sixth or seventh year. Of course, the fact that they weren't officially dating now wouldn't stop them from holding hands, or giving each other quick kisses in public. They would be childhood sweethearts in the eyes of the public, nothing special (of course, Harry was almost sure that Rita Skeeter would make it into something special. The boy who lived and missing Greengrass, young lovers. He could almost see the article in the prophet).

One thing Harry absolutely hated this time around, though, was that he could do nothing for his godfather. The plan was to kill Voldemort in his fourth year, but in order for him to come back, things had to play out the same as last time. If Sirius was freed, word of Pettigrew being an animangus would get out, and he would be captured and unable to revive Voldemort. Harry had spent many nights in the last seven years laying awake, guiltily thinking of his godfather who was rotting away in Azkaban for a crime he didn't commit.

"The Weasleys are here," said Daphne. Her book was now closed and resting on the seat beside her. Harry's cat, Juliet, was curled up on top of it. Daphne frowned slightly, and her cat, Romeo, as if sensing that she was troubled, jumped onto her lap.

Harry followed her gaze, and saw a large family of redheads. He scanned each of them, remembering their fates. Molly, as manipulative as Dumbledore, after only his fame and fortune. She had shunned him as soon as he had begun dating Daphne at the age of twenty-one. Arthur, clueless as ever. Killed in a car accident after trying to drive around without learning how to navigate through muggle traffic. Ron had laughed at his funeral. Ron, who had been Harry's best friend. It was hard, discovering that he was nothing but a jealous and greedy boy, who was after Harry's fame just like Molly. Ginny, who had never been the same after Voldemort possessed her. She could have been great, but her mother's schemes had destroyed her mind, and she had joined Alice and Frank Longbottom at St. Mungo's shortly before her twenty-fifth birthday. Fred, dead in the final battle. George, never quite the same. He had committed suicide only two years later. Percy, who had come around in the end, but was formally thrown out of the family after disagreeing with his mother's opinions. Bill and Charlie weren't there, but Harry remembered how they had fled from Britain after things started to get rough for the family, never once looking back.

Harry tore his eyes away from the window. Nostalgia over people who had betrayed him would do him no good. Harry took out his wand and textbooks. Across from him, Daphne did the same. He also removed the notice-me-not charms from the compartment. If nobody could find him, it would be a bit suspicious.

Both began practicing the spells in their books, and last minute studying the theoretical information. Last time, they had remained in the middle of the class, as far as grades went. This time, they were both determined to be at the top.

The first hour on the train was relatively silent, with the only noise being Harry and Daphne casting spells, as doing it silently at such a young age would be too suspicious, and occasionally quizzing each other on theoretical material, or offering pointers on how to do a spell. They weren't _actually_ trying to give each other spell-casting advice; it was more of a way to annoy each other: their own special version of bickering. It was a competition to see who could offer the most ridiculous advice, and who would snap at the other first. Their 'pointers' consisted of sayings like: "you should hold your wand a bit closer to your chest" or "you need to flick your wrist more," along with the ever-popular "you're saying it _wrong_!"

It wasn't until about an hour and a half into the train ride when the compartment door burst open, and eleven year old Hermione Granger stepped inside. Hermione, while not nearly as evil as Ron, had denounced Harry and publicly claimed he was going dark after he and Daphne had begun dating.

"Have either of you seen a toad?" She asked in a bossy, superior tone. "Neville's lost one."

"Why not ask an older student to summon it?" Asked Daphne (who had never been very fond of the bushy haired girl) in an annoyed, clipped tone. She gave Hermione a superior look, as if to show that she was a queen and Hermione was nothing but one of her servants who had dared to speak out of turn. While not an avid follower of blood purity, Daphne hated it when muggle borns acted like they knew everything and were above everyone in a world they knew next to nothing about.

Hermione frowned. "Summoning?" She asked. "That's not in any of the books I've read, and I've memorized half of the Hogwarts first year curriculum. Are you sure it's a thing?" Harry could tell from Daphne's expression that she was seething in anger. Hermione knew next to nothing about the wizarding world, yet she had the gall to ask if Daphne, who had grown up in it, knew what she was talking about.

"It's part of the second year curriculum. And since both my companion and I have grown up in the magical world, it seems rather rude for one who has only just discovered it to question us on our knowledge," said Harry. He knew he probably sounded like a pure blood ponce, but he couldn't help it.

' _We need to calm down_ ," Daphne said through their soul bond. ' _You're the boy-who-lived, word can't get around that you're acting mean to muggle borns, no matter the reasons. Besides, if we keep acting like this, we won't be prefects or heads_.'

' _Draco Malfoy was a prefect_ ,' replied Harry through the bond, but he calmed himself anyways.

Luckily, Hermione didn't seem to notice the anger in Harry's words, because, just like the last time, she invited herself to sit down and immediately began talking, words rushed like she was going to run out of time to speak.

"How did you know I was muggle born? Never mind, I suppose it doesn't matter. You're right of course, I'm the first magical person in my family, and my parents were so surprised. I've read tons of books, so I hope I won't be too far behind. And I couldn't help but notice that your wands are out, are you going to do magic? Can I see?"

"Alright," said Harry, trying to keep his temper under control. He pointed his wand at her left shoe. " _Colovaria_ ," he said, and her shoe changed from black to green.

At first, Hermione looked impressed. Then her expression turned to one of anger. "Now my shoes don't match, and that's a horrid shade of green. Turn it back, turn it back!"

Daphne turned her shoe back to black, although there was a look of great reluctance on her face as she did so. "Perhaps you should find an older student to summon that boy's toad now," she said, her tone of voice making it very clear that she wanted Hermione to leave. The bushy haired girl huffed in annoyance, but stomped out of the compartment anyway, roughly closing the door behind her.

"How rude," Harry and Daphne heard her exclaim after the compartment door shut.

Harry rolled his eyes. "Yeah, we're the rude ones," he muttered.

"I hate her just as much as you do, Superman, but we have to be nice or the prophet'll be calling us the next dark lords, and we won't become prefects or heads. Controlling our tempers will be a challenge for both of us, but we have to manage."

Harry sighed. "I wish we could reveal the truth about how horrid Dumbledore and Hermione and most of the Weasleys are," he said.

"Who'd believe us?" Asked Daphne.

"Good point," Harry said. "I'll calm down, but only for you, Kitten."

Daphne smiled. "That's all I ask."

Their moment was cut short by the compartment door once again opening suddenly. "I've heard Harry Potter is on the train. Is it you?" Draco Malfoy stood in the doorway, Crabbe and Goyle flanking him, standing dumbly and looking like the idiots they were.

"Perhaps," said Harry, who's bangs covered his scar. Malfoy looked at him skeptically, as if trying to decide who he was. While Harry had managed to prevent people from writing story books about him this time around, there were still 'pictures' of him everywhere. The pictures, however, showed a small, scrawny boy with glasses and hair sticking up in all directions. In reality, Harry was average height with the beginnings of a six pack, he had no glasses, and his scar was faded. His hair was also a bit more manageable than in the pictures.

"Hmph," Draco said. "Well, no matter who you are, I shall kindly offer you valuable advice. Don't associate with mud bloods and blood traitors," with that, he turned and left the compartment.

"Well that was odd," said Harry. His meeting with Malfoy had gone a bit differently than it had last time.

"I'd forgotten how obnoxious he is," said Daphne. "He couldn't even bother to close the door," she stood up to close it herself, but was shoved aside onto the bench by a familiar redhead.

"Harry, mate!" Exclaimed Ron Weasley, though Harry had no idea how Ron knew it was him. "I've been looking everywhere for you. Come with me, I've got us our own compartment," Ron grabbed Harry's arm and began to drag him out.

Harry yanked his arm out of Ron's grasp. "I don't know who you are!" He exclaimed. "And I have no intentions of leaving this compartment."

Ron frowned. "I'm Ron Weasley," he said. "And you wanna be careful who you hang around with," he eyed Daphne, and the look in his eyes was almost greedy, despite the fact that he was implying she was dark.

"I can decide for myself the people I want to hang around with," Harry replied. "And you are not one of them. Please leave us in peace," he said.

Ron didn't seem to catch the obvious dislike in Harry's voice. "I'll catch you later, mate," he said, leaving the compartment.

Daphne scowled. "Can no one be bothered to close the door?" She asked. Getting up to do so herself. She had just sat back down, when the compartment door opened once again.

"Oh for God's sake!" Daphne exclaimed. "Why won't people just leave us alone!" She turned to the people who had just entered. "Harry may be famous, but that doesn't mean that the two of us don't want some peace and quiet just like everyone else. If your here to gawk at my boy- best friend, we are not interested!"

Sophie Roper stared at Daphne in shock. Harry and Daphne froze, and stared back just as surprised, but for a different reason. Sophie Roper had been a Ravenclaw in their year at Hogwarts, and she had also been the one who set them up on a blind date. The girl had been close friends with Astoria, despite the one year age difference and different houses, and her early death during the death eater revival attack (which had succeeded in nothing but killing around twenty people and getting the rest of the death eaters who were still free after the war caught and sent to Azkaban) had been tragic. Next to Sophie stood her future boyfriend, Anthony Goldstein, who died in the attack on Hogwarts in 1998.

"I-I'm sorry," she said. "We're not here to gape. It's just, we got kicked out of our compartment by some obnoxious redhead, and we need a place to sit. I-we'll leave now, sorry for bugging you."

Anthony murmured a similar apology.

"It's fine!" Harry exclaimed. "Daphne didn't mean to snap, it's just, that annoying redhead came from here, and we're rather frustrated with people gaping. If you're not here to gape, though, we really don't mind if you stay."

Sophie and Anthony entered, dragging their trunks behind them. "Thank you for letting us sit here," Anthony said. "We're sorry for intruding."

"It's completely fine," said Daphne, tucking a piece of blonde hair behind her ear. Harry knew that she wanted to befriend Sophie this time around, and he hoped that her outburst hadn't messed things up. 'Well,' he thought. 'No better way to make friends than sharing a compartment with them for five hours.'

"Can you do any magic?" Asked Sophie, shyly, blue-green eyes wide as she looked at their opened books and wands lying on the seats. She tucked a strand up dark brown hair behind her ear nervously, just like Daphne had done moments before.

"Yeah," said Daphne. "Harry and I have been studying ahead and practicing a lot. We can show you guys a few spells if you want."

Sophie nodded eagerly, and Anthony perked up. "Sit down," said Harry. Sophie and Anthony did as told, occupying the seats next to Daphne and Harry respectively.

Harry looked at them carefully. Sophie seemed a bit timid, and Harry recalled that he had barely noticed her before she joined the DA and opened up more in fifth year. Hopefully he and Daphne would be able to get her out of her shell earlier this time around. She was also rather small, even more so than Daphne, though they both had the same slender build.

Anthony seemed a bit more confident, and Harry remembered him being rather popular during his Hogwarts days. Harry knew that the Greengrasses and Goldsteins were rather closely related, and he could see some similarities between the two of them. Though the coloring and build were completely off (Daphne having wavy light blonde hair, creamy white skin, vivid blue eyes, and a small, slender build, while Anthony's hair was sandy blonde, his eyes were dark brown, and he was broad shouldered and rather tall), they had similar smiles and facial structures, although their noses and ears were noticeably different.

Daphne picked up the charms textbook, and flipped through the pages, looking for a random spell. She stopped about sixty pages in. "This spell is the levitating charm, and the incantation is _Wingardium Leviosa_. You have to move your wand like this, and stress the syllables 'gar' and 'o'."

The rest of the train ride passed with Sophie, Anthony, Harry, and Daphne going over their textbooks and getting to know each other. By the time they arrived at Hogwarts, Harry felt closer with Sophie and Anthony than he ever had with Hermione and Ron.

* * *

 **A/N: Thank you for all of the comments I've gotten so far on the Prologue. Some were helpful in writing this chapter, while others were incredibly nice, or both. They are all very much appreciated. Nice comments make my day.**

 **I have a couple questions for you guys about what pairings you want to see for Sophie, Anthony, Ginny, Luna, and any other characters. Pairings with Ron and Hermione might be in the story, though they won't really be important. At the moment, I'm planning on Sophie and Anthony being together, but that could change. Hermione and Ron have about a 1% chance of ending up together, as I don't think they ever would have gotten together in the books without Harry. Of course, the whole plot line of this story is different from the books, so if you really want Hermione and Ron together, I'll do it.**

 **Also, if there are any characters you want to have a big role in the book, please comment. I don't really have any plans for who will be in Harry and Daphne's friendship circle apart from Sophie and Anthony, and I know that they aren't going to get along with Hermione, Ron, and Draco. As I said in the last chapter, I'm trying to not make this story too cliche, so if you feel like it's starting to become cliche than you can comment and tell me anything you think I should change. Also, I update the chapters often, so something might change about an earlier part of the story. When this happens, I will try to mention it in the A/N at the end of the next chapter I post.**

 **I'm also relatively new to the site, so I'm not really sure how to work it. If you have anything about the site that you think might be helpful for me to know, please comment. I'm getting very frustrated over trying to figure it out. It took me about a week to figure out how to get the gray line to show up, and how to edit my documents. I'm not very good with figuring out technology, so any help is appreciated.**


	3. Chapter II

**CHAPTER II**

One thing Harry had never understood in all his years at Hogwarts was why they took the train to school. Why spend nearly six hours sitting in a small compartment when they could just as easily arrive in less than a minute by portkey or floo? Nonetheless, Harry had never been so thankful for anything (except, perhaps, for the chance to go back in time) as he was for the train ride, since it allowed him and Daphne the chance to bond with Anthony and Sophie.

All too soon, they were exiting the train and making their way over to Hagrid, who, just like last time, was shouting for first years a few feet away from the lake. Harry made sure that he got a boat with Daphne, Sophie, and Anthony, as he could clearly see the empty seat beside Ron Weasley. If that wasn't a dead give away that he wanted Harry to sit there, his shouts of, "stay away from me, me and my mate Harry Potter are getting this boat all too ourselves," certainly were.

"I don't understand why he thinks that you're his friend," said Sophie, who, in the four hours they had spent together, had opened up to the point of feeling comfortable enough share a boat with Harry 'the boy-who-lived' Potter instead of other quiet people in hopes of going unnoticed, as she had the last time around.

Anthony nodded in agreement. "What kind of self-centered prat gets told off by a famous person, and then begins shouting that said famous person is his best friend four hours later?"

Ron Weasley did not get his wish of sitting next to Harry Potter, or his wish of having a boat to himself. Instead, he spent the ride across the lake shouting at Ernie MacMillan and Neville Longbottom about how it was all their fault that Harry Potter wasn't sitting with him.

"It's rather entertaining to watch now that the sting of things has mostly gone away, isn't it?" Murmured Daphne, not loud enough for Sophie and Anthony to hear her.

"I suppose," said Harry. "Honestly, it's rather annoying that we haven't even arrived at school yet and Weasley's already damaging my reputation," he said the second part loud enough for Sophie and Anthony to hear.

"I pity you, mate," said Anthony. Sophie nodded in agreement. Suddenly, there was a splash from a few feet away. Harry, Daphne, Sophie, and Anthony turned to see that Ernie MacMillan, clearly fed up with Ron's obnoxious shouting, had shoved him into the lake. Weasley was splashing wildly with a look of fear on his face. Ernie seemed triumphant, while Neville looked looked terrified.

Hagrid didn't seem to notice, despite Ron's screaming and loud splashing. "I'm drowning!" He exclaimed. "How dare you push me into the lake! My best mate Harry Potter is going to-"

"Nobody cares!" Shouted a clearly annoyed girl. Harry thought her name was Megan Jones, though he couldn't recall what house she'd been in.

Eventually, Hermione Granger took pity on Ron, and reached over to help him into her boat. Susan Bones, Hannah Abbott, and Terry Boot didn't seem very happy about it, and their boat looked like it might tip over at any moment with the added weight of a fifth person (something Hagrid had clearly warned against with his shouts of, "no more than four a boat" before they had climbed in).

The boat, by some miracle, probably magic, had not broken or tipped over, and soon the first years were climbing out onto the shore and being led inside by Hagrid. Sophie seemed terrified, while Anthony had a look of fake confidence on his face. Hagrid led them up a few flights of stairs, before coming to a stop.

"First years, professor Mcgonagall," he said, nodding toward said woman who was standing in front of the great hall's doors. He entered the hall, leaving the transfiguration teacher alone with the new first years.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," said Mcgonagall. "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with your house, sleep in the house dormitory and spend free time in your house common room.

"The four houses are called Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw. Each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While at Hogwarts, triumphs will earn you house points while rule-breaking will lose them. At the end of the year, the house with the most points will be awarded the house cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours.

"The ceremony will begin in a few minutes. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up while you wait," she gave a stern look to Ron Weasley, who, like last time, had a smudge of dirt on his nose, before saying, "I will return when we are ready for you," and turning to reenter the great hall.

Ron, like last time, murmured something about wrestling a troll, while Harry and Daphne gave Anthony and Sophie reassuring looks.

"Don't worry," said Harry. "I heard from an older student that we only have to try on a mind-reading hat," he said. Anthony and Sophie looked both doubtful and relieved.

"It's true," said Daphne. "It even says so in The Misconceptions of Magical Schools by Glennis Fawley." That seemed to convince Anthony and Sophie, and they both calmed down.

Suddenly, there were some screams from the back of the group. Harry looked back to see a mass of ghosts streaming through the wall. Just like last time, they spoke amongst themselves and seemed to not see the first years. The Hufflepuff ghost finally took notice of them.

"New students!" Said the Fat Friar. "About to be sorted, I suppose. Hope to see you in Hufflepuff. My old house, you know."

Professor MgGonagall returned. "Move along now," she called to the ghosts. "The sorting ceremony is about to start. Form a line," she told the first years. "And follow me."

The first years lined up, and Harry found himself between Daphne and one of the Carrow twins, although he didn't know which one. They entered the great hall, and everyone, including Harry and Daphne (because it would look suspicious if they didn't), gasped.

"The ceiling's enchanted to look like the sky," said Hermione to Terry Boot, who nodded, clearly unsure of what to say seeing as he was a pure blood and had probably already known. "I read about it in Hogwarts, a History."

Suddenly, the sound of music filled Harry's ears as the sorting hat burst into song.

 _Oh you may not think I'm pretty,_

 _But don't judge on what you see,_

 _I'll eat myself if you can find_

 _A smarter hat than me._

 _You can keep your bowlers black,_

 _Your top hats sleek and tall,_

 _For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat_

 _And I can cap them all._

 _There's nothing hidden in your head_

 _The Sorting Hat can't see,_

 _So try me on and I will tell you_

 _Where you ought to be._

 _You might belong in Gryffindor,_

 _Where dwell the brave at heart,_

 _Their daring, nerve, and chivalry_

 _Set Gryffindors apart;_

 _You might belong in Hufflepuff,_

 _Where they are just and loyal,_

 _Those patient Hufflepuffs are true_

 _And unafraid of toil;_

 _Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,_

 _if you've a ready mind,_

 _Where those of wit and learning,_

 _Will always find their kind;_

 _Or perhaps in Slytherin_

 _You'll make your real friends,_

 _Those cunning folks use any means_

 _To achieve their ends._

 _So put me on! Don't be afraid!_

 _And don't get in a flap!_

 _You're in safe hands (though I have none)_

 _For I'm a Thinking Cap!_

The hall burst into applause.

"Now," McGonagall announced. "I will call your name, and you will come up and try on the sorting hat, which will tell you your house. Abbott, Hannah."

Hannah Abbott rushed over to the stool and eagerly put on the sorting hat. "Hufflepuff," it called, just like last time. Susan Bones joined her, and then Terry Boot became the first Ravenclaw, followed by Brocklehurst, Mandy. Lavender Brown became the first Gryffindor, and Millicent Bulstrode the first Slytherin.

A few names later, Anthony was called up. The hat was only on his head for about fifteen seconds before declaring him a Ravenclaw. Harry clapped and grinned, though unsurprised. He noticed that Anthony had saved a few extra seats. Goyle, Gregory made Slytherin, while Hermione once again sat down at the Gryffindor table. Greengrass, Daphne was called next, and the crowd froze in shock. Full attention was on Daphne as the missing Greengrass made her way up to the stool. The hat was on her head for about thirty seconds, not long at all, before declaring her a Ravenclaw. She grinned brightly, making it very clear that that was the house she had been hoping for, before going over to the Ravenclaw table and sitting across from Anthony.

Daphne was followed by Hufflepuffs Wayne Hopkins and Megan Jones (so that was her house). After that, Neville returned to Gryffindor and MacMillan and Malfoy went to Hufflepuff and Slytherin respectively. Roger Malone, who Harry didn't recognize (he had probably been one of the more shy students), went to Hufflepuff. Theodore Nott went to Slytherin, and McGonagall finally made it to the Ps. After Parkinson, Patil, and Patil were sorted, Harry was called up.

Whispers broke out amongst the students.

"The Harry Potter?"

"Harry Potter as in the boy-who-lived?"

"Harry Potter's actually at Hogwarts, no way!"

People were even more attentive than they had been for Daphne as the boy-who-lived walked up to the stool. Harry saw Dumbledore frown, most likely at Harry's obvious confidence.

 _"Another time traveler, eh?"_ Asked the hat. _"Brilliant mind, you would do well in any house, but I see you prefer Ravenclaw. Ah, but you have something to say before I sort you?"_

 _"Next year when Ginny Weasley comes, she'll be writing in a very dark diary. Convince her the diary is evil and have her bring it to her head of house. Open her eyes to Dumbledore's schemes, and whatever you do, don't sort her into Gryffindor."_

 _"Rather demanding, aren't you?"_ Asked the hat. _"I make no promises, but I'll do my best. RAVENCLAW!"_

Everyone stared in shock. Harry Potter had been sorted into Ravenclaw. Not only that, but it had taken forty seconds, slightly shorter than average, which meant that the hat hadn't had much difficulty (or, more accurately, didn't spend long debating between Ravenclaw and Gryffindor, the house that Harry had been expected to go to). Harry smiled brightly, just like Daphne had, before walking over to the Ravenclaw table and sitting down next to his girlfriend.

The Ravenclaw table went wild, screaming and cheering as Harry sat down. The look on Dumbledore's face would probably be Harry's new patronus memory. The cheering continued as the next person was sorted, so Harry barely heard Oliver River go to Ravenclaw. He cheered loudly for Sophie, who was called next, and at the sight of him cheering the rest of Ravenclaw cheered as well. Sophie looked startled by her enthusiastic welcoming.

There were only five people left after Sophie was sorted, so it didn't take long. Ron Weasley was a major hat stall, sitting there for three minutes with the sorting hat on his head. Curious about what was taking so long, Harry used legilimency to listen to what the hat was saying. Ron was screaming in his mind about how he had to go to Ravenclaw to be with his best mate, or Gryffindor to be with his siblings, and "fellow kings of the school," as he put it. The hat debated both Slytherin and Hufflepuff, but eventually agreed to put Ron into Gryffindor, due only to his pride.

After the sorting was over, Dumbledore stood up and smiled down at them. "Welcome!" he called. "Welcome to another year at Hogwarts. Before we begin our banquet, I'd like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you!" He sat back down, and everyone clapped.

Suddenly, the food appeared on the table. Harry immediately began piling some salad on his plate, while Daphne did the same. He remembered his old life, where he hadn't eaten nearly as healthy. The thought of all of the unhealthy food he ate then, now made him sick.

He didn't eat much, instead he opted to spend his time getting to know his new housemates. The other girls in the year were Padma Patil, Su Li, Lisa Turpin, and Mandy Brocklehurst. Su Li was incredibly sweet, and very creative. She enjoyed writing, mostly storybooks. Padma Patil was an avid reader. She was shy when you didn't know her, but loud and crazy when with her friends. Lisa Turpin was obsessed with horses and loved animals. Despite being a pure blood, she had a muggle upbringing. Mandy Brocklehurst was a major bookworm. She supported werewolf rights and equal rights for muggle borns.

The other boys were Michael Corner, Terry Boot, Oliver Rivers, and Stephan Cornfoot. Terry Boot was really nice and a bit loud. He enjoyed drawing. Michael Corner was almost put in Gryffindor. He had lots of charisma and was very chivalrous. His love for studying unique topics, however, had gotten him into Ravenclaw. Oliver River was the type to be so quiet you forgot he was there, and then start speaking after the conversation was over, pointing out every flaw in both the grammar and the content of the conversation. Stephen Cornfoot was the only muggle born Ravenclaw. He enjoyed running and football, and was one of the cheekiest people Harry had ever met, past life included.

One thing they all had in common was their love for knowledge. Even with the intellectual blocks, Harry had felt like he was speaking to two year olds almost every time he had spoken to fellow Gryffindors in his past life. It had been even worse going to primary school this time around with all of his past knowledge and no intellectual blocks. It felt nice to finally have a decent conversation with someone other than Daphne. He could clearly see the difference between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw, even though he had just been sorted. Already, the Ravenclaw first years were friendly with each other, and instead of splitting up into different groups, everyone talked together, happy to be a part of the conversation. No one spoke over each other, or tried to make a grab for attention. When a sixth year prefect, Geraldine Hooper, began discussing lessons, all of the first years quieted and paid close attention.

The house ghost, the gray lady, rather than choose to sit in one spot like the other ghosts had done, moved around throughout the course of dinner, speaking in a quiet voice to all of the students. She knew each one by name, and, rather than holding a conversation like one might expect, she instead offered advice. Everyone clung on to her every word, and took her advice to heart, storing it away in the back of their minds where they would never forget. "Her advice," Penelope Clearwater had said, "is very valuable. We're very lucky to have her as our house ghost." Some older students, Harry noted, had even brought notebooks and quills with them to the feast, and were eagerly writing down every piece of advice she offered.

At a quarter to eight, Dumbledore stood up and the food disappeared. He told them of the start of term notices, and Harry listened with only half an ear. The speech seemed slightly different from last time, although he couldn't be sure since it had been so long ago. He spoke about the Forbidden forest, quidditch tryouts, and the use of magic in the corridors. He announced that the third floor corridor was forbidden, and Harry could have sworn he was looking straight at him as he said that. Harry knew that Dumbledore wanted him to go after the stone, which was the very reason he was determined to have nothing to do with it. Harry winced at the sound of the school song being sung. He did notice, though, that the Ravenclaw's were all singing to the same tune, and that they probably would have sounded really nice if the rest of the school hadn't chimed in.

Harry got to his feet and followed Penelope Clearwater and Lyle Coriolanus to the Ravenclaw common room, pretending to desperately try to memorize the way like the rest of his housemates. After a few minutes, they arrived at the entrance to Ravenclaw tower.

"This is the entrance to the Ravenclaw common room," said Penelope. "In order to enter, you must answer a philosophical question, brain teaser, or riddle asked by the eagle knocker. If your answer is acceptable, you will be let in. If it isn't, you will have to continue guessing or wait for someone else."

She knocked on the door, and the eagle asked, "Not far off shore a ship stands with a rope ladder hanging over her side. The rope has 10 rungs. The distance between each rung is 12 inches. The lowest rung touches the water. The ocean is calm. Because of the incoming tide, the surface of the water rises 4 inches per hour. How soon will the water cover the third rung from the top rung of the rope ladder?"

"Do any of you want to give it a shot?" Asked Lyle. Harry thought for a moment. This was one of the things he had most been looking forward to about Ravenclaw: entering the common room. He had found a surprising fondness for riddles after his intellectual block was removed.

"Never," he said, and the other first years turned to look at him curiously. "The rope ladder will rise with the water, so it will never cover the third rung."

"Correct," called the knocker, and the door swung open.

"Good job," said Penelope, and Lyle nodded in agreement.

"Not many people get it right the first time," he said.

Lyle and Penelope led them inside, and Harry looked around. When he had been here before, he had only taken note of what he expected: the blue and bronze, the bookshelves, and the statue of Rowena Ravenclaw. Now, he paid closer attention. The floors were deep blue carpeting, and the walls were made of bookshelves. There was a second floor, so to speak. It was small, and formed a ring along the outside of the common room. It was made up mostly of bookshelves, with a small walk way in the innermost part of the circle. There were three staircases in the room. Two on opposite sides, leading up to the second floor. They twisted around in a circle like a spiral, but the spiral was loose, barely going around in a full circle the whole way up. In the middle of the common room was the third staircase. It was also a spiral, but it was much tighter than the other two. It was the biggest staircase Harry had ever seen, and definitely the most impressive. It was made of bronze, which was coiled into intricate patterns. The railing was gold, and the steps were covered in rich blue carpeting.

The common room was filled with an assortment of blue, gold, and bronze furniture (couches, chairs, and desks, among other things), but rather than it all being one shade of blue, like the Gryffindor common room was one shade of red, there were different shades. Much of the common room was also white and silver, giving it a slightly more airy feel than that of the Gryffindor common room. There was a large fire place, and the most beautiful and intricate chandelier Harry had ever seen hanging from the ceiling. The statue of Rowena Ravenclaw stood tall and proud, and, for the first time, Harry noticed what a beautiful piece of artwork it was. The Ravenclaw common room was much nicer than the Gryffindor common room, which always seemed to scream, 'you're in Gryffindor'.

"Welcome to the Ravenclaw common room," called Penelope. "These are the sixth and seventh year prefects, Geraldine Hooper, Adam Heather, Demetria Gonzalez, and Gordon MacDougal." She and Lyle went up the grand staircase, leaving the first years alone with the other prefects.

"As Penelope said, welcome to Ravenclaw," said Demetria.

"Here we value wisdom, creativity, and acceptance, among other things," said Gordon. "As a Ravenclaw, you are expected to be accepting of everyone's ideas and personality, study hard, and get good grades."

"Ravenclaws are unified, and no arguments are to leave this common room, lest they damage our house's reputation," said Adam.

"Ravenclaw first years are always given a student handbook, which includes the rules of Ravenclaw and a guide to your first year at Hogwarts," said Geraldine. "Demetria is handing out your books now."

Demetria was, indeed, handing out small, bronze notebooks with 'The Ravenclaw Handbook,' etched into the cover in fancy blue writing.

"Inside of your book is a map, so you don't get lost on your way to classes," said Adam. "Ravenclaw house does not tolerate tardiness for lessons."

"Although everything you need to know is in your handbook, we'll give you a basic outline of your time at Hogwarts and expectations as a Ravenclaw," Demetria told them. "As first years, your job is to study hard and focus on adjusting to Hogwarts. You are expected to attend study sessions every Tuesday and Friday for an hour. If you have an O, you are expected to help the other students. If you have any other grade, you are expected to ask for help. Es are not considered bad grades, but they are improvable. One thing that is stressed in Ravenclaw house is that if your grades can be improved, work to improve them. If your grades can't be improved, work to maintain them. In Ravenclaw, being in the bottom half of the year grade-wise is considered unacceptable. Poor grades will be excused only if you study hard and do everything you can to bring the grade up, and it's not working."

"During your second year at school," said Geraldine, "you are expected to join the first years' Friday study sessions in order to help them if they need it. You are not required to have study sessions of your own, but you are advised to do so. In second year you are allowed to join the quidditch team and after school extracurriculars, but if your grades begin to drop you will have to forfeit your spot on the team or resign from any extracurriculars until you bring your grades up again."

"In third year you get to choose your electives," Adam told them. "There are five electives: divination, muggle studies, care of magical creatures, arithmancy, and ancient runes. Everyone is required to pick two or three, but as Ravenclaws you must pick three. You can take OWLs for some electives, even if you don't actually take the class. If you plan on taking OWLs for all five of them, I recommend you take ancient runes, arithmancy, and care of magical creatures, because those are the hardest to do independent study for. During third year you have no obligations to do a study group of help younger years, but a study group is still advised."

"In fourth year, you will be student guides," said Gordon. "You will each be assigned a first year to look after and show around. You will meet your student guides after this. Usually, a boy is assigned a girl guide, and a girl is assigned a boy guide. Two groups will stick together. So you will technically have two guides and a friend with you at all times. The first years choose who they group with, which is one reason we suggest you all try to get along. You could be stuck with any person if the opposite gender as guide buddies in fourth year."

"In fifth year you take OWLs," said Geraldine. "They're ordinary wizarding levels, and the second most important exams you will take in your whole lives. Slacking off during OWL year is not allowed. During fifth year, two of you will also become prefects. Fifth year prefects lead the first years to the common room and answer any questions the first years have on the way there. Being a prefect is a great honor. All of you should aspire to be one, but the majority of you sadly won't become one. Don't get upset. Professor Flitwick, our head of house, is always saying how difficult it is to pick prefects."

"During sixth year you will begin taking NEWT level classes," Demetria informed them. "The average number of classes to take is five. The minimum is three and the maximum is seven. As Ravenclaw students, you must take at least five NEWT level classes. Six is advised, but seven takes up a lot of time, so you shouldn't take seven classes without thinking it over and talking with Professor Flitwick, who will be honest when telling you if he thinks your capable or not."

"Seventh year you will be taking NEWTs," said Adam. "NEWTs are the most important wizarding tests you will ever take. Some may argue that the tests you take to get a mastery, if you choose to do so, are more important. I disagree."

"NEWTs are the last tests you will take at Hogwarts," said Gordon. "They are very difficult. Seventh year is every bit as stressful as fifth year. During seventh year, two students out of all the houses will be chosen as heads. Being a head student is the biggest honor you can be awarded. As of now, it should be a goal for all of you. One thing you should all keep in mind during fifth and sixth year, is that you don't have to be a prefect to become a head. Although it's rare for a head to not have been a prefect before, it is possible."

"Now," said Adam. "Geraldine has gone to get the fourth years," Harry noticed that the blonde sixth year prefect was no longer there. "You will meet with your new assigned partner, but only briefly. After that we'll show you the dorms and the bathrooms. Your dorms are on the third floor, and there are two to a room. While we're waiting for Geraldine to get back, please partner up with who you want to bunk with, and I'll write it down and go set your rooms up."

Harry partnered with Anthony, Michael partnered with Terry, Oliver partnered with Stephen, Daphne partnered with Sophie, Su partnered with Mandy, and Padma partnered with Lisa. Adam wrote their names down, then left to prepare their rooms, leaving the first years with the two seventh year prefects, Demetria and Gordon. Less than a minute later, Geraldine returned with the fourth years.

"All right," she called. "I'll be reading off your fourth year buddies. Everyone, please partner with someone of the opposite gender." Harry partnered with Daphne, and Sophie partnered with Anthony. The other Ravenclaws paired up, and Harry heard two of the fourth years groan as Lisa and Terry partnered together. Geraldine glared at them.

Harry was paired with Emma Frances, while Daphne was paired with Cole Whitby. Emma was medium height with long light brown hair, light green eyes, and magenta wire rimmed glasses. Cole was short, with short dark brown hair and really dark blue eyes. They were really nice, Harry immediately discovered. They acted like twins, and Cole said that they had been best friends since before Hogwarts. Emma and Cole took about two minutes to 'adopt' Harry and Daphne, calling them their baby brother and sister. Cole seemed like a bit of a trouble maker, but Emma seemed to have a prefect's badge in her near future (Harry didn't know if she was actually a prefect or not, he had been to busy with life or death situations in his past life to pay attention to Ravenclaw prefects, and he knew Daphne hadn't paid them much attention either).

After about twenty minutes of getting to know their 'fourth year buddies,' as Geraldine had put it, the fourth years and Geraldine went upstairs.

"While Geraldine and Adam finish getting your bedrooms ready, do you have any questions?" Gordon asked. Thirteen hands shot in the air. Lisa was so eager she raised both hands. "Lisa Turpin, is it?" He asked.

Lisa nodded. "When will we get our schedules? What if we don't like what our room looks like? What if we have special diets? When do classes start? What if our roommate is allergic to our pet? What if-"

"Slow down!" Exclaimed Demetria. "You'll get your schedules at breakfast tomorrow, and will have enough times to go back to the dorms and get your books. You can redecorate your rooms later, but Adam is very observant and was listening carefully to what you said at dinner, I doubt you won't like them. As for special diets, I assume you mean something like vegetarian or vegan?" Lisa nodded. "There's plenty of food without meat or animal products in it. Special diet people will be fine. Classes start at 9:00, unless you have astronomy the night before. Then they start at 10:45. And is your roommate allergic to your pet?"

Lisa shook her head. "It was hypothetical."

"Then don't worry about it," Gordon told her. "Any more questions?"

Eleven more hands went up. Demetria sighed, and called on Terry.

Thirty questions and almost twenty minutes later, Harry followed Gordon and Demetria up the stairs. They went up to the third floor, and Harry looked around. There was a circular room with eight doors, and the grand staircase in the middle. Six doors had names engraved in them, while one said boys' bathroom and the other said girls' bathroom. The first years took a quick glance at the bathrooms. There were two toilet stalls, six sinks, and four shower stalls. The bathroom was every bit as grand as the common room.

Finally, Harry entered his new dorm room. There were two four poster beds, one on the wall left of the door, and one on the wall across from it. Each bed had a dresser at the end of it, a bookshelf on the left side, and a bedside table on the right side. There were two chairs next to the door with a side table that had a lamp on it in between them. Two desks were up against the wall to the right of the door. The floors were dark wood with a blue rug. The beds were the same color as the wood, with blue sheets, bronze curtains, and white pillows. The walls were dark blue at the bottom, and the color faded as it got higher up and changed to bronze. Harry loved it.

"All of your things have been unpacked by the house elves, and your trunks are under your beds," Gordon said. "Lights out at 10:00."

Harry glanced at the clock. 9:20. He wasn't planning on staying up much longer. Juliet meowed from her spot on the bed which was against the wall left of the door. Her amber eyes looked at him curiously. "I guess that's my bed," Harry said, nodding toward the bed his cat occupied. Without waiting for and answer, he sat down on the bed and pulled Juliet onto his lap. He took out the Ravenclaw handbook and started reading.

At 9:40, he and Anthony set an alarm and went to sleep. Juliet curled up next to him, and Harry smiled contently. Hopefully, he wouldn't have potions or history of Magic the next day. He fell into a deep, dreamless sleep, thoughts of his new life at Hogwarts fresh on his mind.

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 **A/N: What do you guys think if chapter two? I know it took me a little while to update, but I hope that the length of the chapter (about 5,000 words) makes up for it. Please comment on my questions from the A/Ns in my previous chapters. Who should be in Harry's friend group? What pairings do you want to see (apart from the obvious Harry and Daphne)? I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and please comment.**


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